Wild turkeys terrorize Florida senior community

By Kim Miller kmiller@palmbeachpost.com

Thursday

Jul 25, 2019 at 2:39 PMJul 25, 2019 at 2:39 PM

Wild turkeys terrorized a Central Florida senior community this spring, charging octogenarians using walkers, chasing golf carts and cornering residents in their garages, according to law enforcement reports and resident accounts of the months-long bird assault.

The harassment turned deadly serious in March when a resident of the 120-home Wedgewood Manor neighborhood in Zephyrhills fell and broke his hip after being chased by two turkeys while walking. Slashes from the turkey’s razor-sharp talons caused significant blood loss that, combined with the hip injury, left the man in the hospital and recovery for three months, said Bob Dunkle, vice president of the homeowners association.

“He was laying there 10 minutes or so before someone found him,” Dunkle said. “Turkeys can be scary and some of the people here are in their 90s. Having a turkey run up to you when you are getting out of your car is frightening.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers visited the community at least twice, including in late May when Dunkle called to inquire about trapping or killing turkeys that continued to bully residents.

“Residents recounted turkeys in front yards prohibiting people from exiting dwellings, residents having to run to cars or into homes as turkeys approached, turkeys chasing vehicles and golf carts and attacking cars,” an FWC report notes. “A Chihuahua on a nearby street is said to be the only thing the turkeys fear and when he runs after them, turkeys leave the area.”

Zephyrhills is in a hunting zone that allows turkey taking during the fall and winter, according to the FWC’s website.

Dunkle said he was told turkeys couldn’t even be trapped until hunting season.

Instead, he said FWC recommended “hazing” the turkeys. Hazing includes chasing the turkeys, waving your arms, clapping your hands, spraying with a “strong water jet from a hose,” and opening a large umbrella while facing them.

Also recommended is waving or swatting at them with a broom, as long as you don’t touch them, and allowing a “large dog on a leash to bark and scare them.”

“The thing about our residents trying to haze them with an umbrella or garden hose is they can’t just run around the corner to get their hose when they’re using canes and walkers, so it was more difficult for us to deal with,” Dunkle said.

Wedgewood Manor resident Terry Narum said he was disappointed with FWC’s response.

“We are talking about a life or death situation,” Narum said. “My kids raised turkeys for 4H projects. They can be vicious.”

FWC did assign volunteers to haze the turkeys. They visited the community at least five times.

“I felt like they put a lot of effort into helping us,” Dunkle said about FWC.

There is a suspicion someone was feeding the turkeys, which can make them lose their natural fear of people and cause them to act aggressively.

According to FWC, wild turkeys can become a public safety concern because of they have powerful wings, have sharp spurs and can weigh more than 20 pounds. Once aggressive behavior is established, it’s difficult to change, according to FWC.

Dunkle said the aggression from the turkeys has subsided, but that the community is still considering hiring trappers in the fall when season opens.

“I don’t think anyone in our development of 120 houses thinks anything but that this will start up again next year,” Narum said.

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